Beginning on April 5, protests have emerged across the United States, united by the slogan “Hands Off!” The movement is a general one protesting recent federal actions taken by the Trump administration and the influences of billionaires like Elon Musk on national issues.
Several “partners” have organized under the Hands Off banner, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Indivisible and Direct Support Personnel (DSP); the movement is a coalition of multiple issues including feminism, climate activism, Palestinian advocacy, LGBTQ+ rights, civil rights and disability rights.
At the Minnesota State Capitol in Saint Paul, 25,000 people gathered on April 5 for a Hands Off Rally.
While larger protests occurred in major U.S. cities and state capitals like New York City, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, the movement has sparked a surge across the nation and has reached even small towns like Northfield, MN.
Thus far, there have been two protests on April 5 and April 19, respectively. These protests took place in the main town square on Division Street.
“The protest seemed to be a pretty diverse group of Carleton and St. Olaf students and Northfielders,” said a Carleton student who wished to remain anonymous. “There were several speeches given by St. Olaf students, especially concerning their student dining hall workers’ efforts to unionize.”
Among Carls, Oles and Northfielders alike, there were a plethora of reasons for participating in Hands Off.
The same student described the scenes from April 19: “Protesters were there for various reasons, including justice in Palestine, abortion rights and dislike of various actions from the current presidential administration, but which also included more local causes, such as the aforementioned dining hall workers and more affordable housing in Northfield.”
“Personally, I was there because of the Trump administration’s attacks on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, a foundational piece of disability rights legislation that allows disabled students to receive the support they need in educational environments,” said the student.
The original April 5 protest was organized primarily by Northfield residents, with college students in attendance. The more recent protest on April 19 was organized by a broader set of local groups including those for residents, Carleton and St. Olaf students alike.
Some of the lead groups included “What Now?” — a new political zine and discussion group at Carleton, Carleton and St. Olaf chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), Northfielders for Justice in Palestine and the anti-imperialist book club in Northfield.
For Chloe Epperson ’26, the Hands Off protests aren’t her first. Having been involved with Carleton’s SJP, she said that the majority of people who’ve shown up in the past to SJP rallies have been Carls and Oles, whose SJP works closely with Carleton’s.
Epperson said that “We’ve had rallies at Carleton where we encourage Northfielders for Justice in Palestine (mainly townies who are older) to show up and they have, but it’s not always consistent mostly because of [the rallies’ location] being on Carleton’s campus.”
She attended the April 19 rally and noted a high attendance among Northfield residents and students compared to previous Carleton-focused rallies. “The rally on Saturday was more of a neutral location and promoted pretty well,” she said.
“To me, these protests were just as much, if not more, about community building as they were about showing anger toward the current political moment,” said another anonymous Carleton student. “So many different groups helped to plan and advertise the protest, and we had open speakers which meant all sorts of people had the opportunity to speak about their concerns.”
The protests represent a large-scale effort to criticize what protestors see as an injustice at both the federal and local level.
Along with concerns by student dining hall workers, an anonymous student also said that “There was a petition that went around in support of members of a local union, as well as information about how Northfielders and students could help with a current eviction crisis happening locally.”
The student added, “I also really appreciated that the energy of this protest went beyond just responding to the Trump administration, but understanding that there are a number of broad and interconnected issues that continue to affect our community regardless of whether Democrats or Republicans are in power.”
For many in Northfield, Hands Off has taken broader political concerns as an opportunity to bring people together. When asked about what they hoped for in terms of outcomes, the students had similar, yet different answers.
Epperson spoke about broader resistance to the administration’s “recent attacks on education, welfare, LGBTQ rights” as well as its support for “the genocide in Palestine.”
For the second anonymous student, she noted small-scale efforts to affect changes. She said, “I was so happy to see people actually signing petitions and listening to their neighbors speak because I think there’s a lot of value in gathering in one space and understanding how we can tangibly help each other.”
The anonymous student also said that “Protests can also be really energizing, and I think that having a space for people to show their anger helps to prevent the normalization of the actions that the federal government is currently taking.”
